Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is criticizing a report into last summer’s devastating Jasper wildfire that says her government hindered efforts to fight the blaze that destroyed a third of the Rocky Mountain townsite and sent 25,000 people fleeing.
“It is disheartening to see a report and the media response to that report that so clearly overlooks the substantial, coordinated efforts undertaken by the Alberta government during the Jasper wildfire,” Smith wrote Friday on social media.
“Alberta’s swift deployment of crews, emergency funding and operational support played a critical role in protecting lives and infrastructure, and these contributions are either minimized or ignored entirely.”
Smith also called the report and media coverage of it “politically motivated,” but didn’t elaborate.
The report, released Thursday, was commissioned by the town of Jasper and based on surveys of more than 200 firefighters and others.
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It says Smith’s government complicated the response by regularly requesting information and by attempting to make decisions despite not being jurisdictionally responsible, given that it’s a national park.
It adds government interference disrupted the focus of fire leaders and forced them to spend precious time managing inquiries and issues instead of responding to the fire.
Smith says the report either overlooks or ignores Alberta’s contributions, such as providing firefighters, equipment and financial resources.
“The report also fails to seriously address the broader and ongoing issue of forest management practices within national parks, an area of exclusive federal responsibility,” Smith wrote.
“The long-standing lack of adequate fuel reduction and forest health maintenance in these areas has contributed significantly to the wildfire risk facing communities such as Jasper and others.”
— More to come…
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